After finally buying some new drills & countersinks, I soon realized the need for a more efficient storage solution. To address this, I created bespoke 3D printed tool holders that would exactly fit the new box allowing me to have the drills neatly arranged and readily available. I need more Read more…
Adguard home is a great network wide DNS based ad blocker with a cleaner interface than Pihole. adguardhome-sync is a small tool that allows you to set up an auto synced backup instance for Adguard home to avoid any issues you might have with your DNS resolver. What is Adguard Read more…
Home Assistant is an awesome system but when you get started the terminology can be confusing. Here is a quick explanation what automations, blueprints, scenes and scripts are in Home Assistant. Home Assistant basics – terminology around automations In part I of this series I described the Home Assistant terminology Read more…
Home Assistant is maybe the best open smart home controller out there but if you are new to it some of the terms can be a bit confusing. As a first step towards Home Assistant basics, here is what devices, entities, integrations, services and helpers are. Home Assistant basics – Read more…
Everybody forgets things. With Home Assistant you can use the power of your smart home to stop that. I build a well working reminder system via Home Assistant for different tasks. Its fully features with a text reminder, virtual or physical button to confirm it and a log. Here is Read more…
I automated my lights, my doorbell, my vacuum and more. Next are the thermostats. A smart thermostat can be very convenient and even save money. Here is how I used the Aqara smart thermostat with ZHA and Home Assistant. The hardware – Aqara E1 smart thermostat There are currently a Read more…
Octoprint is a powerful software to make your 3D printer even better. To reach its full potential you have to add a camera – for awesome timelapses and even better integration with your smart home. Here is how to add a camera to Octoprint (using a Prusa Mini). Setting up Read more…
Smart plugs allow you to measure power usage and turn pretty much every electricity powered device smart(er). Which is the best one? The Aqara smart plug makes a pretty good case for joining your Home Assistant and ZHA DIY smart home with its small and sleek design and the included Read more…
A smart watch is great for controlling your smart home as you have it with you all the time. I recently bought the Google Pixel watch and gave it a try with the Home Assistant app – is it a great addition for your smart home or just a nice Read more…
A server like the small Raspberry Pi usually sits in a remote location and has screen or input devices connected to it. To be able to control it remotely SSH is the de-facto standard on Linux. Here is how to set it up to control your smart home server from Read more…